In loving memory of a very special shorthairShomberg's River Country "Bailey"(Ch.
Riverside's Country Legend CD X Ch. Oaklore's Katja Von Shomberg)

April 14, 1993 - March 23, 2008

Our lives are all the better for having shared them with you. Cherished memories will always outweigh the heartache in knowing that mortality is a step that we all must take and there we must all go in time.

We'll remember with laughter the funny, little everyday things that gave you your character and your ability to always turn a less than good day into a special one. We'll never eat broccoli again without thinking of you and wishing you were here to enjoy it with us.

Coming home to a greeting that far exceeded any we had come to expect as routine; just seeing how delighted you were that we would be sharing your couch and your evening and -- our bed. We came to realize that your day wasn't complete without us and neither was our own.

It's so terribly hard not to see your face at the door and feel the warmth of your body in bed during the night any longer. We were blessed for so many years that we almost couldn't bear the thought that time was now limited and we should prepare our hearts for the inevitable.

There cannot be any way we could have prepared for your leaving. Words fail when hearts are so deeply broken. Losing you has meant the loss of a special spirit that helped to make our lives complete. Having you to love has meant having you to lose as well.

The time for you to go "home" had come and we were powerless to hold you here or surely we would have. There should be some solace in knowing that some day we'll be with you again. But now isn't the time or the place and memories recalled only cause our hearts to miss you so much more.

Take good care, Bailey Bob and rest in God's home as you wait for us to return. Know that you are so loved and so missed and that the day will come when we will reach out for that funny brown face to once again greet us at "the door."

It is with the great sadness on this Easter holiday that we share the loss of yet another very special shorthair in our Shomberg family. We were called today to tell us that "Bailey" had passed at 7:10
am, this morning, Easter Sunday, in the loving and devoted arms of Paula & Jim Dougherty who loved our boy beyond
words. My heart is filled with a very deep appreciation for almost 15 years with this special boy and for these wonderful people who have shared their lives and provided a loving home that most people could only wish to have for their dogs.

Bailey was the last of his litter and was preceded in passing by his littermates -- April, Mocha, Fudge and Diamond, all champions and all more well known than this wonderful dog who simply made everyone laugh just by being around him.
He was surely met at Heaven's gate by a sweet, little old man named "Chick" who always knew Bailey as "my dog" and there is little doubt that he will continue to be loved and cared for by this special person who loved him just as much as we have.